Hi, Happy holidays, and thanks for your email! I’m taking a few days off to spend time with my family and friends so I won’t be answering emails as quickly as usual.
I think that it depends on whether or not that OoO was going to people in the company, who new your personsality and would appreciate the humour/personal touches, or to everyone, always. If I got the from OoO from a quirky co-worker, fine. It I got it from an outside contact that I have had little contact with? Unprofessional and a bit off-putting.
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Here’s one example out in the world, which jumpstarted me thinking about this topic:
Naturally, you want to help your clients and other business associates to contact you in the best and easiest way possible. For that to happen, you should provide out of office messages when you are not available.
I start work at 9.30am but always leave the OOO on until at least then and schedule it until 10am – that way if the backlog is terrifying, people who email me that morning will know why I’m not replying straightaway. Similar to how some people mark their first day back from a few weeks off as out of office so they don’t have meetings (which is a great idea although I rarely do it).
When I was in university I set my voicemail to, “Hi, you’ve reached Krabby. I’m unable to come to the phone right now, but please DON’T leave me a message. They cost me like, 50 cents each. Mom, this is mostly for you because everyone else knows to text me instead like a normal human being.”
Whether you’re looking for something straight-laced and formal or over-the-top festive, here are six different holiday out-of-office messages you can use depending on what you feel would be perfectly suited to you, your company, and this time of year. Out of Office Template #1 For the Person Who Works at a Traditional Company
Hi, I am currently out of the office until [MM/DD]. I will reply to emails as soon as I can upon my return. If this is urgent, please contact [name] at [email] or [phone]. In the meantime, check out this new [product/sale/service/etc]. I can answer any questions about it for you when I get back.
I got the original voice mail on my landline when it became available for home use. It replaced the old voicemail recorder you could buy.
There ought to be a word - and perhaps there is, in German - for the mix of feelings that accompanies composing and activating a holiday out-of-office message. There's smugness, of course, and a gratifying sense of laying down one's virtual tools after a horribly long shift. But for many of us, these nice feelings are tempered by the knowledge that in two weeks, refreshed but depressed, we will have to trawl through hundreds of emails, many of which will be conference room notifications for meetings about crises that have passed.
But really, I think people who know you WFH will get your meaning and people who don’t know you WFH won’t care or feel misled if they find out you really work from home.
I try to substitute “parental leave” for “maternity leave” whenever possible. Trying to normalize it as a benefit to all employees (at my company) rather than a special lady-vacation.
Erin Ollila is a content strategist and writer who believes in the power of words and how a message can inform — and even transform — its intended audience. Reach out to her on Instagram at @ErinOllila, or visit her website erinollila.com.
How do I add the District Events and Religious Holiday calendars to my calendar in Outlook?
Providing estimated time to customers for getting responses is the first and foremost best practice to be followed by businesses. Usually, when customers know what the wait duration is, they are not very frustrated. Hence, setting clear expectations is crucial for delivering excellent service.
Email autoresponder platform seems to provide great help when you are probably not a good situation to reply to emails in time. It definitely would be a good thing to learn in every organization. MenuCategoriesComputersSmart HomeWiFi & NetworkingMobile & TabletsTV & Home TheaterPrintersBusiness Technology Home Business Technology How to Set Up an Automati... How to Set Up an Automatic Out of Office Reply in Outlook
Let your OOO response do some lead generation for you while you’re away, publicizing all of the exciting ways people can still get involved with your company’s community before you return. For example, you can encourage inquires to use your online booking or appointment system on your website, or you can tell them to subscribe to your newsletter to stay updated on upcoming offerings you’ll be announcing soon.